Title: Firsts
Author: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Publication: January 5th 2016 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Format: Advance Reading Copy
Source: Provided by the publisher via NetGalley
ISBN: 9781250075963
Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.
Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.
When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process.
I received a Digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for my participation in this blog tour. By no means have my review been affected and/or influenced.
Firsts is an honest, straightforward and thought-provoking book about sex and virginity. It tells about Mercedes and how she offers to have sex with virgin boys so to teach them how to give the perfect first time to their girlfriends. Sex in YA isn’t really something new. I believe some of us have read several books where some characters engage in such activities but with this book, it is kind of different-and unusual.
There were quite a few “firsts” that I have encountered in this book. It was my first time to come across a book with such a plot. Like I said, it’s very uncommon. It’s not for me to say that it’s one of kind since I’ve not read enough books yet but I can tell you that it’s something I haven’t read before. Although, I think it was too risqué for a YA book to have a 17 year old main character offer sex to boys she barely even know like it’s just a simple favor. But still, it worked. The synopsis alone screams “Read me!”.
Then we have Mercy, another first on my list. Mercy is an original, which is something that YA books should continue having, not a cut out from a different book. My first impression about her is that she is stupid, reaaaaaally stupid! I almost wanted to yell at her because of the decisions she keeps making. But on the other hand, she’s strong, independent and smart. She is passionate about science and really loves to teach. If she can only see how great she is, she is more than just a girl who sleeps around. It shouldn’t even define her.
It was also my first time to read a book with a broad opinion about sex. It did not only revolve around what’s happening in Mercy’s bedroom but also Mercy’s friend, Angela. Angela does not believe in sex before marriage but when she learns that Mercy is not a virgin anymore, she becomes pressured into giving it up to her boyfriend (who was also giving hints that he wants to get in her pants). I like how this book implies that it’s okay to have different opinions sex and this shouldn’t affect the way you think about other people.
Now that I’ve mentioned it, Firsts also gave light to the issue of being pressured into having sex. It’s a sad thing to see how some characters were struggling with this issue. But what is more sad is that it happens in real life too. But what this book teaches us is that we shouldn’t give into the pressure and be wise.
Aside from the sex theme, there was also Mercy’s family issues. One of the things I’ve noticed is how Mercy calls her Mom by her first name. It confused me in the beginning to who Kim was but later on I realized that she is Mercy’s Mom. It became evident that they don’t quite have a good relationship. This leads to Mercy making unwise decisions. She sometimes purposely mess up things just to see if her mother would care, but in the end, she’s only causing trouble to herself.
Firsts will open your eyes to many things. Your bookshelf will be incomplete without this book. And if you still aren’t convinced, let me just mention that there’s a major shocker that I won’t tell you anything about. You just have to read it for yourself!
Rating:
The whole Kim – mom thing threw me off at first, too, but this was definitely a powerful book!
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I’m not really used to seeing someone call their mother by their first names (esp in our culture) so I wasn’t really sure if it’s just a normal thing. But anyway, it is indeed a powerful book. Thanks for visiting!
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I definitely want to read this. It sounds like nothing that I’ve ever read before and I am very intrigued.
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IKR? Hope you get to read it soon! 🙂
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I’m super excited about this book. I love a ya book that actually portrays teenage sexuality honestly.
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I haven’t encountered much books with such theme but I can tell that this book fits your preference. Can’t wait for you to read it!
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Mercedes is sort of an antithesis to me so I’m really curious to see what reading her perspective would be like. Also, it’s refreshing that more mature themes are explored in ya literature with this one. Glad you enjoyed this, Beatrice! 🙂
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I hope you enjoy this book as well, Summer! ❤
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I’ve heard so much about this book. Fantastic review!
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Thanks, Shelea! You def should add this to your reading list! 😉
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Whoa. This is interesting concept. I am not at all okay with the idea of an underage girl giving out sex like it’s nothing no matter what the motives are–I can’t help but be worried about what some youn impressionable readers will make of this concept.
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It’s a good review though. And I will still read only if it is to see if it’s okay for younger readers.
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You should give it a try. I would want to know what your thoughts are. 🙂
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I really enjoyed this book. Unique and thought provoking. 🙂
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Glad you did! Books like this one are so rare!
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Christina R. in the rafflecopter
I’d love to read it because it’s a difficult topic to handle well while keeping the readers rooting for the main character, and I think she really got it right! i love the excerpt!
thank you so very much 🙂
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Thanks for joining! I’m glad you enjoyed the excerpt! Hopefully, you get to read the whole book. 🙂
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From the first line of the except, I feel like I want to hate her. But I’ve only heard great things about this book, and I love reading about characters who are not perfect, and who don’t make perfect decisions. I’m so happy to see the giveaway is available to Canada, too! Wahoo! 😀
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Gosh. I’m sooooo late with replying to your comment!! I know what you feel about characters who are Mary Sues and just too perfect. It makes me appreciate the imperfect characters (even if sometimes annoying) kind of characters even more.
The giveaway may be over but I have a bunch of giveaways running now! There’s also a $20 book of choice giveaway happening right now. Maybe you can join and buy this book if you win. 😉
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I love the synopsis, have heard loads of rave reviews, but this is the first time I’ve actually read an excerpt and now I want to read it more than ever! Thanks for including an excerpt 🙂
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Ohhh you’re welcome. ❤ Hope you get to read it soon. The excerpt was such a tease, isn't it? 😉
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This was a totally unique concept of a book for me and while at first I was very curious how it would be pulled off I was ultimately left unsatisfied. It was just far too unrealistic for me and I really couldn’t agree with the MC’s choices regarding the whole sex issue like I don’t see how she could ever think that sleeping with another girl’s bf would be helping their relationship?! Anyways I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on this one 🙂
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Yeah it was a bit unrealistic buuuuuut it actually made me think if it does happen in real life and I’m just not aware of it. 😉
Thank you. I appreciate it!
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I really tried with this book but unfortunately it just didn’t do it for me. I knew it was something I wanted to read when I read the synopsis not because I thought I’d like it but because I wanted to see how it would be executed. I really did think it would be a lot more mature content that it ended up being but sadly I found it a tad cheesy and predictable.
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It’s a kind of book that will either be a hit for other people or a miss for some. I can see where you’re coming from right here. 🙂
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I read this one back in December I think and I really liked it. I never read a book about such an honest mention of sex. Like you, I liked how Mercy was different from other female MCs. I think I gave it 4.5/5 stars and I kind of want to reread it again!
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